This collection contains the manuscripts, drafts, proofs, and articles by Harry C. James from 1953-1968. Materials by James
include a draft of
The Hopi Indians manuscript with annotations by F. W. Hodge, a publisher's copy for
The Hopi Indians: Their History and Their Culture, proof sheets for
Cahuilla Indians, and a 1939 article from
Desert Magazine. Collection also includes biographical materials on James.

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry National Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Autry Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry National Center
as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.

Access

Collection is open for research. Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit http://theautry.org/research/research-rules-and-application
or contact library staff at rroom@theautry.org. An item-level list is available

Biographical note

Harry Clebourne James (1896-1978) was a friend of F. W. Hodge, and made several donations of artifacts to the Southwest Museum
between 1941 and 1956.

James, a native of Ottawa, Canada, came to Los Angeles in 1913, admittedly moviestruck. He worked behind the camera for several
of the early film companies, including D.W. Griffiths. His one venture as an actor failed because he couldn't force a scowl
on cue in an audition with his new friend, Dorothy Gish. The Gish sisters, Dorothy and Lillian, as well as many other early
Hollywood celebrities, were early and enduring supporters of many James causes, including the Cahuenga Council, his first
boys group, the Western Rangers, and the Trailfinders. The council was named for the original inhabitants of the Hollywood
Hills, where James conducted his first hikes and camps with a Penobscot Indian actor, Tahamount, known in the films as Dark
Cloud.

James established his school in Altadena in 1926, the year before he and Grace were married, and she became the teacher of
basic required subjects while James and his friends conducted classes in Indian and conservation themes and led the summer-long
camping adventures into Indian areas throughout the West. His lifelong involvement with the Hopi apparently began about 1921
when a short camping trip to Old Oraibi with the Trailfinders lengthened into a two-week stay due to flooded roads. The Pueblo
people befriended James and the boys, providing them with food and endless nights of legend telling. The incident had a profound
effect on James and most of his best writing from that time concerned the descendants of the Anasazi. James was instrumental
in the founding of two early-day Southern California philanthropic groups in the Charles Lummis tradition, the National Association
to Help the Indian and the Indian Welfare League.

Inventory

The Hopi Indians - first draft with corrections and suggestions by F. W. Hodge

The Hopi Indians - Their History and Their Culture – publisher’s copy

The Hopi Indians - Their History and Their Culture – copy 2 - photographs to accompany it are in the photographic archive

Cahuilla Indians - proof sheets - B copy

“The Evil One That Came Up from the Underworld” Desert Magazine vol. 2 no. May 1939

“Some Personal Recollections of Stewart Edward White and Charles Fletcher Lummis” from a talk given before “the Westerners”
Nov. 1968 (Lummis is not in this part)

“Will James” - description

Related Archival Materials note

On the Trail of Kit (Christopher) Carson (trip) of the Trailfinders School for Boys. Altadena, Calif. 1939. Type Report. Retained
in Christopher Carson Collection MS 597.